Field instruments are typically widely distributed throughout a process plant and are connected by process control loops to a control system. Field instruments typically require a supply of electrical power for operation. The electrical power can be provided by the control loops themselves or by separate power wiring to the instruments. The amount of power required by each field instrument is usually quite small, and is typically on the order of about 50 milliwatts or less.
When wiring is used for control loops, the wiring is typically enclosed in electrical wiring conduits which require mechanical mounting for support on the framework of process equipment over long distances. Often, the cost of wiring a field instrument over long distances exceeds the cost of the field instrument itself.
When a wireless communication loop is used to communicate with a field instrument, the wireless communication loop does not provide a power supply to the field instrument, and separate power supply wiring is needed.
While the power required for a typical field instrument is extremely low, field instruments are often located in very hot, dangerous or inaccessible locations in the process plant. In such locations, it may be impractical to use a chemical battery as a source of low power in a field instrument. The environments in such locations are often dirty or shielded from sunlight, making use of solar cells for power supply impractical. Solar cells and batteries, in the plant environment, require too much maintenance to be usable for power supply in many field instrument applications.
Process equipment in plants typically include boilers, steam piping, heated tanks, hot oil and gas pipelines, refrigerated liquids (e.g., liquid nitrogen, liquid helium, etc.) and other equipment that are heated or cooled to a temperature that is different than ambient air temperature in the process plant. Large temperature differentials are present, and waste heat flows between the ambient air and the process equipment. The amount of energy lost due to a waste heat flow often greatly exceeds the amount of electrical power required by a field instrument.
The power and voltage of thermoelectric generators are generally directly proportional to the temperature difference or temperature gradient between hot and cold plates of a thermoelectric generator. The use of heat flows in conjunction with a thermocouples to provide power is known, for example from German Gebrauchsmusterschrift DE 201 07 112 U1 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,891,477 B2. However, there are a number of practical problems that arise.